History Memes / Arknights

*** [[VideoGame/Persona5 Showtime!]] [[labelnote:Explanation]]Outside of Lelouch, Logos's Japanese voice actor is also famous for voicing Joker, the PlayerCharacter of ''Persona 5''. The connection is not lost on fans on both sides of the pacific as fans started making jokes and Persona related memes relating to Logos.[[/labelnote]]

** The Sui beans [[labelnote:Explanation]]Round {{Ridiculously Cute Critter}}s based on the Sui siblings, with their designs taken from the [[https://imgur.com/a/6ea21bA "dragon bubble"]] (龙泡泡) line of [[TheMerch plush toys]]. They're a very popular subject [[https://safebooru.org/index.php?page=post&s=list&tags=dragon_bubble_%28arknights%29+ for fanart]], frequently appearing alongside the actual Sui siblings and/or engaging in cartoonish antics together.[[/labelnote]]

** The Sui beans [[labelnote:Explanation]]Round, SuperDeformed CartoonCreature versions of the Sui siblings, based on the [[https://imgur.com/a/6ea21bA "dragon bubble"]] (龙泡泡) line of [[TheMerch plush toys]]. They're a very popular subject [[https://safebooru.org/index.php?page=post&s=list&tags=dragon_bubble_%28arknights%29+ for fanart]], frequently appearing alongside the actual Sui siblings and/or engaging in cartoonish antics together.[[/labelnote]]

** The Sui beans [[labelnote:Explanation]]Round, SuperDeformed CartoonCreature versions of the Sui siblings, based on the [[https://imgur.com/a/6ea21bA "dragon bubble"]] (龙泡泡) line of [[TheMerch plush toys]]. They're a very popular subject for fanart, frequently appearing alongside the actual Sui siblings and/or engaging in cartoonish antics together.[[/labelnote]]

** [[Manga/JojosBizarreAdventure "ZA WARUDO!"]][[labelnote:Explanation]]Mostima has a myriad of time/clock motifs, and her second and third abilities ("Lock of Shattered Time" and "Key of Chronology" respectively) involve time manipulation, especially the second skill which stuns the enemies in place (ie. stopping time). One can only guess where this went. This phrase also goes hand-in-hand with [[FanNickname fans calling]] Mostima as "DIO". It also sees combination with Ceobe's second skill ("Really Hot Knives") in memes due to the latter being a FlechetteStorm of thrown knives much like the one DIO uses against Jotaro.[[/labelnote]]

** [[Anime/CodeGeass "I, Logos vi Kazdel, command you to die."]] [[labelnote:Explanation]]Logos is voiced by Jun Fukuyama, previously well known for voicing Lelouch in ''Code Geass'', so various crossovers and references started popping up the moment he was announced. This specific quote and its original are particularly well attributed to him due to how he convinces the Damazti Cluster to kill itself in Episode 12, and how his first skill's execution has been likened to literally commanding his enemies to die.[[/labelnote]]

** [[Manga/JujutsuKaisen Domain Expansion / Satoru Logo(s)]] [[labelnote:Explanation]]In addition to his skills often being likened to setting up a Domain, Logos is widely considered in-universe to be the single strongest caster in Rhodes Island (and one of the strongest Arts users ''in the setting''), combined with his ability to nullify enemy projectiles by slowing them to a crawl before deleting them led to a slew of references being made to Satoru Gojo, considered in ''Jujutsu Kaisen'' to be the strongest modern sorcerer whose main ability also involves slowing incoming attacks infinitely to nullify them. His first skill (especially when used against hordes of trash mobs) is instead compared to [[spoiler:Sukuna's Malevolent Shrine]] as a area of effect that instantly eradicates anything that enters.[[/labelnote]]

** Logos's mother expected a daughter/Logos the WholesomeCrossdresser[[labelnote:Explanation]]As in-game lore about the Banshee tribe shows that they are a predominantly female race while male Banshees are extremely rare to the point that some don't even realize they exist, it became fairly popular for some artists to depict Logos crossdressing, sometimes unwillingly at the behest of his very doting mother. The fact that a young Logos appears in the Babel side story with a rather effeminate hairstyle and wearing a robe that looks a lot like a dress only added fuel to the fire.[[/labelnote]]

** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLTBnaY1Jhg AEmiya]] [[labelnote:Explanation]]Thanks to a number of [[https://old.reddit.com/r/arknights/comments/nkf9qo/ unusual similarities]] Amiya shares [[https://old.reddit.com/r/arknights/comments/12ggrky/ with Shirou Emiya]], Fate/Stay Night fans began cracking jokes about her idealism, her ability to project swords and copy skills, and the fact that she is aided by the Royal Heir of Victoria.[[/labelnote]]

** Bring the boob window back! [[labelnote:Explanation]]While Logos fans rejoiced at the announcement that he is finally playable for the 5th anniversary, a subset of Logos fans lament how his playable version abandoned his NPC, "off-hour" attire for his Rhodes Island Elite Operator uniform for his playable version debut and prefer his NPC artwork's attire. Cue fans joking that Hypergryph erased the "boob window" when it's "on-hours" for Logos to work as an Operator. Humorously, this is noted in Episode 14 where [[spoiler:Logos's mother, through [=Phon0r=], say that Logos's Rhodes Island uniform doesn't look good on him in contrast to his formal wear]].[[/labelnote]]

** Bring the boob window back! [[labelnote:Explanation]]While Logos fans rejoiced at the announcement that he is finally playable for the 5th anniversary, a subset of Logos fans lament how his playable version abandoned his NPC, "off-hour" attire for his Rhodes Island Elite Operator uniform for his playable version debut and prefer his NPC artwork's attire. Cue fans joking that Hypergryph erased the "boob window" when it's "on-hours" for Logos to work as an Operator.[[/labelnote]]

** [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness That's not our Amiya!]] [[labelnote:Explanation '''(Massive spoilers!)]]Amiya is infamous among the fanbase for one of her homescreen voice lines reminding the Doctor that they still got lots of work to go, giving off the image that Amiya is a bit of a slave-driver to get the Doctor to not slack off. When Amiya's Medic alter is released for Episode 14 and said voice line referencing this instead has Amiya say that the Doctor can take a break if they don't feel like working, cue jokes from players of Amiya being out of character for it.[[/labelnote]]

** Wrong Nearl [[labelnote:Explanation]]At the end of ''Zwillingstürme im Herbst'', Viviana hears from a messenger that 'Nearl' got her letter and wants to talk with her in person, which turns out to be Młynar inquiring about [[spoiler:a campaign knight she met on her travels bearing the Nearl family crest]]. Given the [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_smiling_knight.png joyous smile on Viviana's face]] upon recieving the news and [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_disappointed_knight.png her expression]] when meeting Młynar, fans joked about how disappointed she was that the Radiant Knight wasn't the one waiting for her, and drew fanart of Viviana acting flirty around an annoyed Młynar after mistaking him for his niece.[[/labelnote]]

* Due to Pompeii's volcano theme and method of attack mirroring Eyjafjalla's third skill, players have taken to depicting Eyjafjalla wanting to adopt Pompeii, or Pompeii straight-up being her pet already. Others have tried comparing or even ''combining'' the two, with varying results.
--> '''[=KyostinV=]''': So now, you can understand how enemies feel when you use Eyjafjalla's third skill.
** This gave rise to meme edits that place her face on Pompeii, also known as the "[[https://www.reddit.com/r/arknights/comments/gb2hrn/didnt_see_anyone_post_it_yet_so_here_u_go_eyja_e3/ Eyja slug]]".
* Amiya and Eyjafjalla's "rivalry".[[labelnote:Explanation]]Due to them sharing the same Caster archetype, Eyjafjalla is for all intents and purposes a direct upgrade over Amiya, and has time and again proven her usefulness in a lot of situations where her counterpart would struggle to get by, usually when mobbed by a lot of foes. While Amiya herself ''is'' plenty powerful, the self-destructive nature and small coverage of her kit shunts her into a smaller niche than Eyjafjalla can enjoy, which makes her significantly less useful than her supposed "rival". The meme intensified when it was revealed Amiya can change her class to Guard, with many fans joking that if Amiya couldn't take Eyjafjalla's place, she'll instead take Ch'en's. That being said, the whole rivalry thing is purely {{Fanon}}, as neither of them acknowledge each other in the game, much less fight each other over the Doctor's favor.[[/labelnote]]

* Eyjafjalla skin when? [[labelnote:Explanation]]As the game progresses in its lifetime, jokes have been made about when will Eyjafjalla get a new skin, with some fans and content creators [[https://www.pixiv.net/en/artworks/88644422 feeling the need to make the joke]] when a new operator skin is released, especially for operators who ''aren't even'' released on the EN/Global servers yet, and some seem to quip that her "skinlessness" is implemented as a NecessaryDrawback to balance out her sheer power. While there are indeed a few operators from the original launch who still do not have a skin (such as Franka and Indra), Eyjafjalla stands out in particular since despite being one of the most popular and hilariously [[GameBreaker game-breaking]] operator in the game, she is literally the ''only'' 6-star available since the launch of the game who ''still'' has not gotten a new skin while the other launch 6-stars did. For comparison, the most recent launch 6-stars who got their first skin are Saria and Angelina, back during the first anniversary of the CN release of Arknights. Some of the leading theories is that Eyjafjalla's artist, Anmi, had a falling out with Yostar after an ''Azur Lane'' artist traced her art, and therefore she won't contribute any more art to games associated with Yostar, while another theory is that Anmi is on maternal leave and is taking care of her newborn child, thus cannot contribute any new art at the moment. However, Eyja is announced to be receiving a skin at some point after Contingency Contract #5: Operation Spectrum, much to the rejoice of fans, though this doesn't change the fact that Eyja had the longest period of "skinlessness" out of the 6-star operators, a total of ''over two years''. The joke would eventually come to a close when Eyja FINALLY got a skin with Coral Coast upon the rerun of Gavial: The Great Chief Returns.[[/labelnote]]
--> '''Aegle''': Schwarz gets two skins but still no Eyja skin? Yep, pretty much.
** Rosa's skin [[labelnote:Explanation]]After Eyja finally got her skin, fans felt the need to seek another 6-star to bully over their skinlessness. Naturally, they go after Rosa, since she is now currently the oldest 6-star operator without any skins, which has already came to a close when her skin will be releasing on the upcoming Near Light event. [[/labelnote]]
** Bullying "skinless" Operators [[labelnote:Explanation]]It has become a trend for players and fans to mock Operators who have not received any skins for a very long time since their release, especially when later released Operators got a skin earlier than them. Franka in particular is especially subjected to bullying due to the fact that she had been available since the start of Arknights, and in Operation: Originium Dust, she was wearing a new outfit during the event (alongside her partner Liskarm), but for no discernable reason, it was not made into a skin whatsoever even though Liskarm's new outfit ''was''.[[/labelnote]]

* Rockrock? Where is Mudmud?[[labelnote:Explanation]]Chapter 10 introduces the operator Rockrock as a playable Caster. Due to a combination of Mudrock existing and the [[{{Narm}} silliness of Rockrock as a codename]], many players started jokingly wondering when "Mudmud" would be released.[[/labelnote]]

* The Friends List Incident[[labelnote:Explanation]]On March 27th 2024, a bug occurred in the global server, causing all players' friends lists to be wiped clean. Although the issue was resolved within a few hours, it did not stop the deluge of jokes, such as sobbing over the Doctor having been abandoned by all their friends, players bemoaning that their friends list [[SelfDeprecation now reflects reality]], or suggestions that Yostar wants the players to go out and make real friends. The realization that this was caused by the same update that implemented U-Official into the global version also led to jokes blaming the whole incident on her [[BornUnlucky notoriously terrible luck]] managing to [[TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou leak into the real world]].[[/labelnote]]

** It was as if she was staring at walking garbage. [[labelnote:Explanation]]Ascalon's Elite 2 artwork has her look down ominously with contempt. Naturally, the kinkier side of the community was ''very'' pleased at this, wanting Ascalon [[TooKinkyToTorture to look down on them harder.]][[/labelnote]]

** [[https://old.reddit.com/r/arknights/comments/1chcw7y/viviana_the_pet_ingame_typo/ The Candle Knight is into petplay]] [[labelnote:Explanation]]A typo in the flavour text of Viviana's potential token turned her from a poet to a ''pet'', which has made people joke about how some of the spicier Red Wine tabloids might have been closer to the truth about Viviana's bedroom habits than previously imagined. Others blame/praise Virtuosa for "awakening Viviana to her inner feelings".[[/labelnote]]

* Lowlight[=/=][=UmiNeko=], the head producer of the game himself, is a veritable FountainOfMemes. Usually whenever something wacky happens in the main story or events (''Darknights Memoir'' being delayed, [=FrostNova=] and Patriot [[spoiler:dying]], etc...), the fandom will be very quick to chalk it up to it being a big brain move by [=UmiNeko=], usually with [[https://preview.redd.it/v6d7kp0oma961.jpg?width=512&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e50d2150534707a3a021ff9358ab756271b01672 an image edit of his grinning face]] somewhere in frame. While his memetic status was initially limited to Chinese circles, and even then usually only to those who had been following his work since his ''VideoGame/GirlsFrontline'' days, his popularity soon expanded to other fandoms after ''Arknights'' went global.

* The forever beta Base[[labelnote:Explanation]]The Base, where the the player can produce resources and train operators, has been labelled as "beta" since the game's launch, leading many to expect that the (frankly, somewhat janky) system will eventually be updated and modernized. This has yet to happen, leading many to proclaim that the Base will forever remain in beta state, or repeatedly joke/hope that the next event will finally bring a Base update. The meme has even travelled over to the spinoff game, ''Endfield'' - it has a strong base-building element, which was quickly hailed as the Base update everyone has been waiting for.[[/labelnote]]

** Death Suzuran [[labelnote:Explanation]]Since Virtuosa's third skill Liberal Tango has an expanded range like Suzuran's Foxfire Haze with a focus on eradicating enemies with Necrosis damage instead of healing allies, many see Virtuosa as what happens if Hypergryph develops a character who's the exact opposite of [[NiceGirl Suzuran]] in [[BlueAndOrangeMorality terms of personality]] and role in combat.[[/labelnote]]

** Balans [[labelnote:Explanation]]A somewhat derisive nickname given to Ch'en the Holungday due to her ridiculous power that arguable redefined the standards for damage output at the time of her release, which has since been extrapolated to any operator with a similar GameBreaker reputation.[[/labelnote]]

** Ebenheimer [[labelnote:Explanation]]While considered to be something of a LowTierLetdown in the broader player base, properly utilized, a max-level Ebenholz can outright one-shot some of the bosses. Combined with ''Film/{{Oppenheimer}}'' releasing a few months after he came out on Global servers, his fanbase came up with a plethora of "I have become death, destroyer of worlds" jokes, as well as art and memes pairing Ebenholz with nuclear bomb imagery, including [[https://www.reddit.com/r/arknights/comments/15kql74/ebenheimer/ riffs on the ''Oppenheimer'' poster]].[[/labelnote]]

** Gee, W! How come [[spoiler:Hypergryph lets you have TWO limiteds?]][[labelnote:Explanation (spoilers)]]As of Episode 14, W has received a ''second'' limited alter version, Wiš'adel, as a Flinger Sniper. This has led to jokes over W being the clear favorite of the developers.[[/labelnote]]

** Pilgrimage to the holy land[[labelnote:Explanation]]''Arknights''[='=] head producer Lowlight originally created Kal'tsit for Website/{{Pixiv}} Fantasia T in 2015, and as such she has [[https://www.pixiv.net/en/artworks/49687640 artwork]] predating the game by several years. After ''Arknights'' fans rediscovered this art, it became a tradition to leave a comment commemorating their "pilgrimage" to see her, with other popular comments poking fun at how this technically means she's older than Terra itself, or (after the "plagarism" incident mentioned under "Hypergryph and staff") sarcastically admonishing Hypergryph for "stealing" her design.[[/labelnote]]

** Come stop me, Doctor, I'm about to do something wicked. [[labelnote:explanation (spoilers for Lone Trail)]]Given how there was fears of the system Kirsten Wright developed with Friston's aid being used as a superweapon, Gundam fans who found out about Friston's connection to said events, and his Japanese VA being the literal Voice of Char, made the appropriate Char's Counterattack joke about the whole situation.[[/labelnote]]

** Sweet Home Terra [[labelnote:Explanation '''''(Massive Spoilers)''''']]Fans of the popular meme that Kal'tsit was the Doctor's ex-wife recieved a ''massive'' shock when ''Babel'' dropped the bomb of a reveal that [=AMa-10=] was the creation of the Doctor and Priestess, with the former giving her the name Kal'tsit. This means that Kal'tsit wouldn't really be their ex-wife, but is actually closer to their '''daughter!''' For several fans, Kal'tsit is no longer the cold ex-wife, but is now the estranged daughter who is unamused by her parent's antics.
[[/labelnote]]

** Arturia [[VideoGame/LibraryOfRuina causing people to distort.]] [[labelnote:Explanation]]Arturia's character revolves around her obsession with emotions and desire for all people to fully express their hearts and live without regrets, leading to her using her music Arts to release people's inhibitions and cause them to act on their most suppressed desires, causing no end of problems. Due to the FriendlyFandoms between the Arknights and Creator/ProjectMoon fanbases, fans noted that this is almost exactly how ''[[VideoGame/LobotomyCorporation Lobotomy Corporation's]]'' Carmen, [[spoiler:at least as of ''Library of Ruina'' where she has become an omnipresent "voice", is obsessed with expression of the true self and incites the City's inhabitants into embracing their deepest desires, causing their transformations into Distortions or awakening their E.G.O.]]. As an added bonus, both are dark-haired women closely related to a male counterpart who is sometimes pragmatic to a fault, and Project Moon's games already have no shortage of music-themed characters associated with [[BrownNote insanity or loss of inhibition.]][[/labelnote]]
** Virtuosa did nothing wrong [[labelnote:Explanation]]While Rhodes Island doesn't have a shortage of morally dubious operators who actively work for the company, a combination of Virtuosa's relative lack of regret for her past crimes (despite her canonical regret of causing the death of her mother) .[[/labelnote]]

** Death Suzuran [[labelnote:Explanation]]Since Virtuosa's third skill Liberal Tango has an expanded range like Suzuran's Foxfire Haze with a focus on eradicating enemies with Necrosis damage instead of healing allies, many see Virtuosa is what happens if Hypergryph develops a character who's the exact opposite of [[NiceGirl Suzuran]] in [[BlueAndOrangeMorality terms of personality]] and role in combat.[[/labelnote]]

** Homewrecker Theresa/She stole the husband and cat/Arknights has entered the [[{{Netorare}} NTR]] Route [[labelnote:Explanation (SPOILERS)]]As a result of revelations in Babel that Theresa wiped the Doctor's memories to stop them from following Priestess's plans, fanart soon began portraying [[https://old.reddit.com/r/arknights/comments/1c5hco3/ms_priestess_your_doctor_has_gone_to_a_more/ Theresa as smugly stealing the Doctor and Kal'tsit from Priestess's side]].[[/labelnote]]